The present research aims to investigate the dialectical relationship between architecture and dystopian cinema, as a spatial phenomenon that is redefined over time. The cinematic discourse on the city can be a starting point for rethinking the urban environment and this is the trigger for our research. The role of urban space as a vector of action and narrative is examined. How its design is influenced by the filmmaker's gaze, the time of the film's creation and the choices of society at the time. What is the reflection of dystopian cinema «on our collective cultural fears and unconscious desires for the future» (Riven Barton, 2016, p.5). Why the role of the architect proves to be as important as the roles of the director and the actor, in this particular genre of cinema. Also, through the reading of the architecture of the city, a correlation with the city of tomorrow is attempted. The films we analyze, cover a wide chronological range (production date), from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day, presenting a variety of visual representations of the dystopian city of the future. In addition to presenting films from Western cinema, it was deemed necessary to include films from Japanese cinema, as the dystopian themes may remain common, but the approach differs to some extent. Tokyo is destroyed over and over again on the big screen by toxic pollution, nuclear explosion and giant monsters. Unfortunately, this kind of disaster is no stranger to Japan, as they have experienced the atomic annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.